Goodwill Treasures

~ Not so long ago I saw a lamp that I "LOVED" that was priced at $70 per lamp.  I looked at the lamp and thought, why can't I do that myself?  So I did, I copied it.  But first, I had to find the right lamp to work with I started out on my search.  Every time I passed a Goodwill or thrift store, yard/garage sale.... and even antique stores, I would stop and check for the type of lamp I wanted.  I finally found 2 wooden lamps {in excellent condition) at Goodwill for $4.99 each. 

Before

~ I then went to work on creating the lamps I needed for lighting in my bonus room that I am decorating with a "Patriotic" theme.  I sanded the lamps, primed and painted "tediously" with red, white and blue.  I purchased lamp shades from Walmart for $7 each.  I also purchased a star stencil for $2.75 from Hobby Lobby... {I will use it again on another project for my Patriotic room}.  I used the stencil to trace stars {with a pencil} all over the lampshades and then painted each star "carefully" by hand.  Later, once I took the "after" picture, I noticed that I could still fit a few more stars on my lamp shades and so I painted a few more to fill in the empty spots.  I was so thrilled with the way these lamps turned out.  They use the 3 in 1 bulbs so we can have dim light or the brighter lighting that we needed for reading. 

After

~ Stay tuned for my next project that is currently in progress.  {Hint?} End tables that I purchased off of Craigslist for my Patriotic room!  I am redoing them and will have before and after pictures as well.  ♥

Linked to http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/